kashka, I'm big on not confusing paint with color. Be that as it may, the quality of base, how white it is, can indeed aid in a better "quality of color". Technically. However, that "gray" you mention could have a purpose and place too so I'd likely not discount it as lesser color quality. Maybe the paint did change, maybe it didn't. Does it really matter because it is what it is - now - to your eye and in your light. I can explain.

Each of the brand's palettes that I work with have distinct *personalities* for lack of a better word. Pratt & Lambert, the old Martha Stewart colors from SW, SW and BenM are close, but you can still see a difference between the two. The uber brands, the full spectrums seem to have a bit more soulfulness in my opinion. Farrow & Ball brings something to the table that no other brand does. One can describe and note the differences between the collections of DK, EK, and Citron, you can see and feel the different artist's color perspective in each.

For me it is two-fold. It's a matter of matching the right palette to the right person as well as crafting the best partnership possible to the inherent light situation. The contents of the room and design style must be considered too, but not till the end because that's the easy part. It's the collaboration of color and people and light and space that's the trickiest. Once you get that figured out, coordinating colors and creating color schemes is the fun, easy part and most all color collections offer a broad range of colors with which to do just that.

That's how I use the different palettes and bascially exploit various qualities of color -- even the "gray" ones. Can't say I think one palette is any better or that one brand offers a better "quality" of color because it all depends on what is needed and the specific situation. Not all palettes are created equal and that's a good thing because every person and every space is unique. When someone comments that they find a particular palette "muddy", they probably do. To their eye and in their house. Have to take feedback like that with a grain of salt. You do have to *see* for yourself in your own room/house and make your own evaluation. Just the nature of color.

Having a variety of palettes to choose from is awesome. I'm fully aware that some people are limited in what brands they have to choose from. That's okay. Sometimes you have to make the best of it and just make it work. Sometimes keeping the field of color choice small is a benefit too - it's less confusing and overwhelming. Small color collections are great for those who easily feel overwhelmed by color choices. i.e The new BenM Affinity collection is a nice alternative to their two super decks of a zillion colors.

Whether it's the palette from Kilz Casual Colors or Ellen Kennon, they all contribute something and have the ability to offer a variety of color solutions. It just depends on what you're lookin' for. There's my subjective input. :)

FC - good information, thnx much for the input.

I guess if I may rephrase my question - how would you characterize the various "personalities"?

All I can say at this point is I am not a fan of Sherwin Williams - in my ca 1906 house (w lots of wood floors trim etc.) everything I've used from there has this gray undertone (overtone?) that really bothers me. I painted the whole downstairs apt. with it. The only color that looks nice is one that is deliberately a gray-green color.

The yellow kitchen & living room & etc. - not so good. In bright sun it looks OK but in all other lights the gray is noticebably dreary.

In my mind I need to figure out which "personality" or collection to look at, before I need to start narrowing it down to individual colors.

Its not working for me to just look at the little paint sample squares.

BTW - is there anything that resembles the old K Mart Martha Stewart paints? I had luck with those a few yrs ago. They didn't seem to have that gray cast.